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Merry Christmas

well i am taking some time off to enjoy being with my family and my baby on her first christmas! i hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and that santa brings you everything you want and more! merry christmas y'all- love pinkwallpaper

i have been tagged....

I was tagged by carolina eclectic. Thank You! Here are the rules.
Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share seven random and or weird things about yourself. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. i like to listen to the same song over and over again until i can't stand to hear it any longer...

2. my favorite outfit is a black patagonia puffy vest, seven jeans, and my cowboy boots

3. when i was pregnant i was put on bedrest (pure hell) and so i watched the entire series of felicity (i had never seen it before) and now i feel like they are my bestfriends...i miss them so much...

4. i could eat mexican everyday

5. i am a really messy person...i drive my husband insane b/c i can live in complete chaos and be fine (i think this is my way of rebelling from my mom making me clean my room everyday before i went to school)

6. i am scared to try the boots over the jeans trend even though i have a new pair of boots that would work perfectly...

7. i am in need of a major makeover...sometimes i dream of stacey and clinton showing up on my doorstep and telling me that they have a visa card w/ my name on it....

i am tagging brillant asylum, girl meets glamour, house and life, j'adore decor, suzanne marques,
the scoop, sgm.

orche

i love it when i stumble across something that takes my breath away; orche does just that. this company offers a line of furniture, lighting, and accessories that are beautiful. the lines on the pieces are modern with elegant, classic propotions. the company is headed by british couple harriet maxwell macdonald and andrew corrie and you can go to their store in nyc (462 broome st. to be exact). i love the earth tones that are found in the upholstery and the sleek wood finishes. another thing they are famous for are their beautifully handcrafted lighting. i inquired about this company and immidately got a response back (thanks dana) to see if they worked with the trade. it seems like they are very designer friendly.

pickled white oak

one of my favorite things about having this blog is that i feel like it keeps me in the "know"; i am challenging myself to want to keep up with the latest and greatest, as well as educating myself on things that i may not have known previous to this....which leads me to today's post on pickling... i think we are going to be seeing a lot more of the "pickled" look in wood finishes. it seems like the weathered, distressed, almost drift wood look is where designers are heading- and i love this. maybe it's because i live in a beach town but i love the soft, gray hues that are given off by the wood and the rawness that it produces. i guess i am kind of over the really dark stained cabinets and this is my way of opening myself up to a new evolution of wood cabinetry. i adore this kitchen done in the pickled white oak. it is so clean and crisp...something that i find myself gravitating to much more in design. pickling is definitely not limited to cabinetry; it looks amazing on furniture, applied on floors or ceilings (oh, love it on the ceilings).

i was intrigued on how they actually do the pickling stain to the wood so i researched it a little. it was created to make new wood look old or "dusty". stainers took the wood, generally oak, and created a formula...take a handful of rusty nails and soak them in vinegar for 3 days; this would produce a gray solution that was then applied to the raw wood. today, they have come up with a much more calculated approach to pickling...it involves primer and paint thinner. either way, the look is gorgeous and i think something we will be seeing a lot more of....

making small spaces work best for you....

some people see a small space as an obsticle but what you need to know is that you can make the smallest space a perfect opportunity to make a major design statement! one thing that you might keep in mind is going monochromatic with your color palette...too many colors in a small space may make it seem choppy and broken up. I think an all white color palette looks amazing...i love using a crisp white for everything...try Ben Moore navajo white. to create dimension use a flat sheen on the walls, a satin or semi-gloss on the trim and to step it up, try a gloss on the ceilings! this gives added depth and texture to your space. you should also try to capture as much light as possible; keep the window treatments simple like side panels which allow the maximum amount of light to enter the room. Also, reflective surfaces like mirrors, polished solid surfaces, or shiny finishes like chrome give added light. Avoid a lot of visual cutter from bulky furniture. This would be a good time to play with furniture you can see through. Another benefit of a small space, means you might be able to splurge on some lavish materials you otherwise couldn't afford...like marble countertops, or an elaborate backsplash, high end appliances, wallpaper, etc. so take your small space and tackle it with beautiful design elements...then sit back and close your eyes and pretend you are in your upper east side apartment and it makes everything seem so much grander!

backsplash envy (well actually entire house envy)...

suzanne from simply magic totally makes me envious of her kitchen backsplash tile, custom designed by her super fab design team woodson & rummerfield...i noticed this little beauty in a display of her christmas card. i emailed her and told her it was amazing and that's when she informed me that ron and jamie had this ann sacks tile custom colored green, gray, and white for her space! the top pic is a view of her entire kitchen/ dr/ lr space. lucky lady! i read in one of her previous posts that her husband had mastered the art of tile installation...wonder if he installed this? btw, great talent to master. tile installation can get pricey, especially the decorative, art inspired tiles that are now available. finding someone who has this talent is a true gem! (you can check out other pictures of her house at w & r, it is to die for...love the powder room wallpaper!!)

a coat of polish...

(picture Southern Accents Dec. 2005, Miles Redd)

i love it when people share experiences or things they have learned in the industry. that being said, courtney at in(side) the loop left a very informative comment on my painted chairs dilemma: I JUST had a refinisher come out and look at 3 antiques I recently inherited from my Dad's side. When I mentioned "painting" them, he almost fell over. HOWEVER, he also thought they would look better "painted" but he educated me. Lacquering does not mean it has to have a high gloss...it's just a finish but it can be matte or shiny. That said, it costs a bit more to have your furniture professionally lacquered but if you ever wanted to strip it and refinish the wood, it comes off very easily. If you were to paint it, paint would always be in the wood and you'd never be able to get it back to the original condition.

this led me to think more about this process...i love the look of lacquered walls and furniture. it can be placed in a tradition or modern home and is virtually timeless in it's appearance. it is an extremely labor intensive process therefore, the professional painters can charge out the you-know-what to achieve this look. a quality lacquer paint job should allow you to see your reflection in the sheen of the paint! this can require up to 30 coats....but man, you cannot replace the beauty of this look. walls look magnificent in both candlelight and day light. i did research to see if there was a DIY way out there and came across this article...basically to sum it up- NO, consult a professional and your accountant when contemplating lacquer to grace your home.

i love this...

the idea of a family style bathroom featured in House and Garden...great for children who are sharing bathrooms. i especially like the idea of everyone having their "own station". my husband and i could benefit from this...he always leaves a glob of toothpaste in the sink and i get water everywhere when i wash my face!! i especially adore the long drift wood top that the sinks sit on...kind of makes you feel like you are at camp!

i'll take one of those grown up rooms...

i remember being pregnant and showing my husband this picture and saying "i want our nursery to look like this"...you should have seen his expression; he was like "are you kidding me??" he couldn't get past the chairs. i still love this nursery and i think it's the juxtaposition of the david netto crib w/ the ornate antique side chairs and exposed pipes in the ceiling. i don't know, sometimes i think it's nice to have a "non- baby" nursery. i think that this is definitely a baby's room but i like the grown up aspects of it and the fact that the homeowner simplified the baby items. i think sometimes we can be too influenced by the "babies r us" crap and think that you must have all of that stuff in order for the baby to survive. we have it, however, i keep the ugly stuff in the closet and only display the "prettier" baby items like her manuella duck or the dwell baby blocks, the bla bla mobile...maybe that is the same technique this homeowner used and if the photographer shot the other side of the room we would then see the elmo, winnie the pooh, baby einstein, leap frog, dora toys scattered all around...but somehow i doubt it.

bronze, the classy way of saying brass....

i can't believe i am writing about this but brass is creeping back into the design world. some of you may say "did it ever leave"...well, if that is what you are thinking- YES, it left! you must be one of those who are holding onto that chandelier that came w/ the house when you bought it in the early 90's. i think that if you put the word "antique" in front of brass- antique brass, it makes the word sound so much better. brass is something i associate w/ the 80's and early 90's...but lately, (can't believe i am saying this) i am loving some bronze/ antique brass looks . you will be seeing it in hardware, which is pictured above (thanks beach bungalow8). i love the way it reads in this kitchen and the light just screams cool. lighting is another place it will be found... and you will also see this finish in a lot of furniture design. i adore this lona design console in pale pink with bronze accents. so, i guess we must give brass...let me clear my throat- bronze/ antique brass another look. and forgive those nice people who have hung onto their beloved 80's brass chandeliers.....

is it really a sin...

to paint a precious antique?? i have loved these painted chairs since they appeared on the cover of Charleston Home last sept. which brings me to my dilemma...is it okay to go there...there begin taking an antique that has been in your family for decades and painting it!! my finger tips sweat a little just thinking of that thought!! i am all about painting an antique that you pick up at the local antique mall but what about one that has meaning and a past w/ your family??!

i think that my DR chairs would look amazing lacquered like these...maybe in a chartreuse color. the chairs are gorgeous as is, but they don't give me the pizazz i am looking for in this space. my mom said to do it...but we haven't even told dad that it might happen, and those just happen to be from his side of the family- i am scared to even go there...dad can't really let items go to easily...in fact, he built a barn on some land of ours, just to house our unused furniture. i am also plagued with the dilemma of "will i ever regret doing this"?? as my neighbor says, you can always have them refinished down the road...well, lets hope we win the lottery by then!!

BUT sometimes i think i would love to just not have those chairs at all and replace them with these....that's the problem w/ being an interior designer...there are so many possibilities that its hard to actually make up your mind!! HELP!

why can't i be oscar??

lately, i have been having this epiphany that i can do anything if i set my mind to it...well i want to be oscar...aka the man with that spray can featured in the picture! (ha, for people that know me, they would get a real chuckle out of that!) i don't know if it is me reading style court's guest blog this week (she is doing the best posts), but man i am obsessed w/ wanting to find the perfect flea market bargain and making it something sassy like Lee from Pieces or Ruthie from Chapman Radcliff. and i think if i had this spray can and of course the gas station shirt w/ my name on it, i could create some real masterpieces!! we have a garage and my father-in-law has that spray can tool...why couldn't i. i called my husband at work yesterday and said, i want to paint our china cabinet! he wasn't too excited about this idea (maybe b/c our garage has the bookshelf that he built over thanksgiving still sitting in it needing another coat of primer and 2 coats of paint...but wouldn't it be so much easier if we sprayed it) i also want to paint my DR chandelier, our LR armoire, and my foyer console....i need to be oscar. plus, i think you look a lot cooler w/ a spray can vs. a paint brush!

make me a bird....

i think it was from forest gump and jenny was standing in the fields and said "lord, make me a bird so i can fly far, far away"...that's how i feel about my office...better yet, make me a bull dozier. my office is utter chaos!! there are fabrics, wallpaper, random papers, and magazines EVERYWHERE! it is not a pretty site at all (thank goodness clients don't see this part).

I need a major room makeover. i would love for ruthie sommers to come and wave her magic wand and "poof" this beautiful imagine appears....is that too much for a girl to ask??

OH MY christmas tree...

well, isn't that great, my tree decided that it wanted to be the leaning tower of Pisa this AM... luckily, i saved Christmas and rescued it. i had to do a little speaker phone action to my husband at work in order to save the crazy thing. it was about to eat my wing chair and then the floor! we thought we would be ahead of the game and bought this super- duper tree stand that swivels so if you have a crooked tree trunk, it doesn't matter...well that thing swiveled a little too much apparently last night...

you better watch your back martha...

because the darby's don't play around!!! seriously, i think we did pretty darn good! and the best part was that my husband actually got into painting one of them. i did the cream background reindeer and he did the chocolate background reindeer. not that it's a competition...but come on, mine is the best! hee hee. anyways, this was a lot of fun, easy to do and makes a great statement when you walk into our house at Christmas time! oh, and i also did the snowballs...don't know if they are blogger-worthy though but i like them none-the-less!!

christmas time is here!!!

so since its officially christmas time- as of tomorrow, i will now begin to write posts relating to my FAV holiday. if i can beat this cold, my husband and i will begin to decorate tomorrow. it's total chaos when this starts- mainly b/c of the outside lights. we always try to come up with some awesome way to do them and then they end up being incredibly tacky and shorting out our power b/c we have too many lights connected together. two years ago, we actually caught the bushes on fire...who knew it wasn't good to leave the lights on in the rain? i almost peed myself when i saw the sparks....luckily,it ended very quickly.

i am trying to reinvent my interior christmas decor...my problem is, i can't remember what all i have until the boxes are down from the attic. i was thinking this year i would try to step it up a notch and paint this adorable reindeer that was featured in domino last year....yea, don't hold your breath but it is a great thought. i mean, i really think i can do things like this and then i buy the supplies and the excitement fizzles. or i think it would be cute to do a series of reindeer parts like these cards and hang them in a grouping. i'll give you an update on monday....

i wish i had a jack and jill....

i absolutely love using an element like this industrial sink from kohler to think outside of the box for a jack and jill bathroom. while it maybe a little pricier than your standard sink, the impact that it gives off will be worth it. plus, you save by not having to outfit a vanity in the bathroom. i love what designer jackie terrell did to the underside of the basin...painting it avocado green! how much fun is that? if you are interested in this look but think that it's too expensive to achieve, check out local salvage stores...you might stumble across an old one which would make it just that much more fabulous!

the color that is everywhere...

as i flip through magazines the color that is really standing out to me is gray. i see it used in a ton of design elements right now. i use to feel like this color was cold and i couldn't imagine using it on the walls but i have a new outlook on gray. it seems so peaceful and pairs beautifully with blues, browns, corals, etc. i will say, i tend to lean to the brownish/ gray version of the color...i think that the added brown pigment gives off a warmth that makes the color not seem as well, how do you say it- gray! i was thrilled when a client/ indecisive friend of mine wanted to use the color. we looked at a ton of paint for her walls. we wanted the house to feel neutral but not look like a "spec home" where the walls seem like an institution. i can't wait to see how it reads on the walls.

another great thing about the color gray is that it looks absolutely beautiful with marble... marble on the counter top, on the bathroom floors, or as tile in a shower. i've looked at a lot of wood flooring lately and the darker shades tend to have purplish gray undertones in it- they are gorgeous. this color also looks great with another trend right now, metallic. so if you are in the market for a change in paint or a new color exploration, try gray....you'll be in for a pleasant surprise!

diamonds are a girl's best friend....

so every time i get a new Cottage Living, i get another inspiration. last month, it was fran's letters (which i need to show y'all) and this month it's kitty's dining room. i love the diamond wall treatment....however, i think it's over my head. the homeowner, kitty, did this by hand, three times until she finally got this result- which i think is stunning. i would go absolutely crazy trying to perfect this look. for pete's sake, i went crazy trying to paint 6 letters...can you imagine the stress i would be under! plus, it's all about the straight lines, good painter's tape, and math. i love the white and chocolate...my dining room would look more like a tiffany's box b/c it's robin's egg blue and i can visualize the diamonds in white....my husband would kill me...i can see me now, on a ladder attempting to get a straight line...yep, this project isn't going to happen. but way to go kitty!

Happy Turkey Day!!

who wants to waste their time reading a blog when it's thanksgiving holidays?? i hope everyone has a wonderful time eating lots, drinking lots, and spending lots of quality time w/ your family!! i can't wait for everyone to get here! see y'all next week! loveage!

bubbles and wine can totally clear my mind.....

after my daughter had her meltdown last night, i needed some time for ME....what do you do when you need time to veg? my husband thinks i have turned into an internet nerd...i love searching it for ideas, reading other people's blogs, celebrity gossip, etc. but after 2 hours of crying (just b/c she could) i wanted to relax. my poor husband took the brunt of the crying...which i hate b/c he only has 2 hours with her when he gets home from work and when she is crying bloody murder, it doesn't make it pleasant. especially after working all day in a place which in my mind is identical to the office.

so you ask what i was doing while my sweet hubbie tried to calm our daughter....i cleaned our bathroom. i think that this is quite possibly the worst job anyone can have and to have your background music be a very unhappy baby, only makes the job that much more painful. now, i NEVER voluntarily offer to clean the bathroom...but i knew that i wanted to soak in a bath after our screaming kid was down and so i had to "do it for the family". my husband and i hate cleaning the bathroom so much that when we got married, we hired someone to help us clean it. unfortunately, when i decided to start my own company, that was the first thing that had to go.

so back to my story, my way to veg is a bubble bath. in the winter, i love to take a bath every night w/ lots of bubbles and to read my magazines. last night, i giggled to myself b/c i felt like "the reverend" on run's house...(ok, i love mtv- it's out in the open now). you know you have seen the end of the show, where he sits in his bubble bath and types on his blackberry about the lessons he has learned from the day's events....good thing i don't have a blackberry b/c who knows the things i would have written last night! this is the time of year to give thanks- therefore, i am thankful for a sleeping baby and a clean bathtub....